At the beginning of this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy launched his European tour in pursuit of greater military and financial support in the context of the continuing war in Russia. He started this journey in London, where he met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The Ukrainian leader, who arrived in the UK on Thursday, introduced his “victory plan,” which he described as a strategic blueprint for ending the war. According to him, the plan was an appeal to the allies to enhance Ukraine’s security guarantees, weaponry, and post-war future. Starmer emphasized that he attached great significance to this meeting because it was an opportunity to delve deeper into the proposal.
It was supposed to be announced during a high-level meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany, but the summit was put off when US President Joe Biden called off his planned visit to focus on Hurricane Milton.
With no end to the war in view, Ukraine’s finances are now on a knife’s edge. The Ukrainian parliament voted on Thursday for drastic wartime tax increases designed to raise around $12 billion required for defense by the end of 2024. “The law was supported by 247 out of 450 deputies in the Verkhovna Rada,” said Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a legislator from the Holos party.
The new law already passed and awaiting the president’s signature raises the war tax for residents from 1.5% to 5%, increases the tax burden on individual entrepreneurs and small businesses, and establishes a 50% tax on bank profits along with a 25% tax on the profits of other financial companies.
Zelenskyy has said several times that such urgent additional aid might tip the balance in war and bring victory on the field, with Russian forces still capturing small towns and villages in the disputed eastern areas.
The UK has also been one of Ukraine’s most important allies, pledging £3 billion, or $3.9 billion, annually in military aid for as long as Ukraine needs it. US support, however, is uncertain in view of the presidential election coming up in November. The Germany-based Kiel Institute warned recently that Western military and financial assistance to Ukraine could possibly halve to around €29 billion, or $31 billion, in 2025 if Trump were to be elected Republican candidate.
Part of the “victory plan” of Zelenskyy is permission to strike military installations deep inside Russia using long-range weapons supplied by allies, like the Storm Shadow missiles provided by the UK. The US allegedly remains wary of giving this permission for fear that this will be considered an escalation.
After London, Zelenskyy is scheduled to visit French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome. He will see Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday morning and is expected to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz later on Friday, according to a German government spokesman.
